calm

Reflections on late fall

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The calendar continues to move closer to winter; autumn is almost out of our rear view mirror. The waterfowl have all flown south, the temperatures are dipping lower at night, the sun is hanging closer to the horizon, and the majority of leaves have fallen. The oak tree leaves that remain are a deep russet color.

We had a couple of days of calm winds, where the stillness of nature was delightful. As sunset neared, the winds dropped completely and the lake became like a sheet of glass. The sinking sun’s rays were a golden light and spread across the shoreline. Each tree seemed to glow until gradually the sun sank below the opposite hill and spread it’s shadow over the trees.

Soon the lake will begin to freeze. The oaks will drop their remaining leaves, and winter will settle in. It’s been a glorious, and longer, fall – nothing to complain about here.

Raindrop ripples

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Whenever I’m out on a lake I’m always looking around at the sky, the clouds, the shoreline and the reflections — anything for a delightful image and photograph.  Last week I wrote about musical patterns that I saw in the surface of a lake with the reflection of cattails and lily pads.  This week I found raindrops dancing on a lake surface.  It was early evening when we put our canoe into the water, with a sun sinking into the west and a bank of clouds passing by.  The sun was still out and when I looked around I could see small circles on the surface of the lake, and not of the fish-kind.  Although we couldn’t feel it ourselves it was starting to rain.  The single drops spaced themselves on the surface of lake, making beautifully concentric circles and ripples spreading outward.  With the sunlight and the blue sky reflected in the surface, I was presented with a wonderful photographic opportunity.  As quickly as the rain had started, it then stopped.  After awhile the sun slid below the horizon, painting the sky a shade of pink and orange; the full moon rose over the trees, the stars filled the sky above, and we were treated to another beautiful summer’s evening on a Minnesota lake.

Musical patterns on the lake

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With a weekend full of activities that already included an art exhibit reception, a 40-mile bike ride, and a baseball game, we decided to head out early this morning for some peace and quiet on a local lake.  We had hoped to be on the lake as the sun was rising, but Mother Nature had other plans and the dawn began overcast and cloudy.  As we launched our canoe we had the entire lake to ourselves, surrounded by the special stillness and quiet that is reserved for the earliest times of the morning.  The lake was calm and we paddled near a shoreline that was lined with cattails and had lily pads floating nearby.  As I looked at the lake surface and the reflection I felt like I was looking at a sheet of music with staff lines and notes placed in a pattern that was meant to be played and interpreted.  Perhaps it was a prelude to the day that was just beginning — a time of wonder and calm when all the world seems still and all you have to do for the next hour or so is relax in your canoe, paddle on the lake, and enjoy the hours as they quietly develop.